New Year’s day buy-bust op in Surigao yields P1.3-M in shabu

Butuan City – A sting operation conducted at a New Year’s Day celebration in Surigao City resulted in the seizure of over P1.3 million in illegal drugs from a purported drug trafficker.

The suspected pusher, Ralph Robin Velez Ravelo of Purok Ilang-Ilang, Barangay Taft, Surigao City, was arrested by the Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office (PPO) in the buy-bust operation which took place on January 1, at Purok Champaca, Barangay Poblacion.

Authorities seized a total of 22 packs of shabu, weighing about 115 grams in all, four smaller sachets of the drug, various drug paraphernalia, as well as the marked money and sachet bought by the undercover agent.

The inventory and other items of evidence were marked on the scene, as witnessed by barangay officials, policemen, and members of the local media.

Shabu, the street name for methamphetamine hydrochloride, has a market value of approximately P10,000 / gram.